The UNC guard is now the franchise's youngest owner, as he acquired the ice cream shop's Franklin Street location in Chapel Hill.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A quiet Ben & Jerry’s sat still on Franklin Street around 4 p.m. on Friday before Seth Trimble stepped inside. Any other day, it would be business as usual, but that afternoon, the North Carolina guard was documenting some personal history.
He walked in and greeted his parents, who, outside of the gentleman behind the counter serving ice cream, were among the only ones in the store before he entered. Trimble walked in with Antonio McBroom, his mentor since he arrived at UNC.
Trimble posed for a few photos inside the ice cream shop before a young boy and his dad walked in for some ice cream. Soon after, Trimble slid on some gloves, tied on a black Ben & Jerry’s apron and went to work. The kid ordered chocolate ice cream, and Trimble served up two scoops for him on a waffle cone before handing it to him.
“Leonardo,” Trimble called out, addressing the boy, “this is for you, sir!”
From that point on, Trimble moved around the store like he owned the place — which, now, he does.
Trimble, who just turned 21 years old this summer, is now the youngest owner of a Ben & Jerry’s franchise in the company’s history. McBroom, the previous owner of the Chapel Hill location, symbolically passed on the store to him by handing him an honorary golden spoon. The move reflects the continuing boom of NIL in college athletics, as opportunities such as these weren’t previously available to college athletes. Now, Trimble is taking advantage of the modern college basketball world by investing in a local business.
The fourth-year senior out of Menomonee Falls now embarks on an entrepreneurial path while also acting as UNC’s home-grown fourth-year veteran entering the 2025-26 season.
“I’ve just always had the idea of growing and continuing to expand and show who I am outside of the basketball court,” Trimble told Inside Carolina while seated by a wall in the store with his Carolina Blue No. 7 jersey right next to him. “And this is an example of showing it now, but I’ve always had that vision. I know the ball doesn’t dribble forever. I know that as a human being, I’m allowed to have many interests in life.
“Basketball is the thing that I crave the most. It’s what I love to do, but there are things that I also want to explore, and that’s the business world, that’s entrepreneurship. That’s just seeing what I can do and how successful I can be in these other fields.”
McBroom met a then-17-year-old Trimble in 2022 and began forming a relationship with him once he got to college. McBroom bought the Franklin Street Ben & Jerry’s upon graduating from UNC in 2008, making him the youngest Ben & Jerry’s owner at the time. He is now the chief executive officer of Primo Partners, a black-owned company that focuses on entrepreneurship development.
Early on in their relationship, McBroom noticed Trimble’s leadership and ownership potential. He said that Trimble’s curiosity and drive to excel in all facets of his life at a young age stood out.
McBroom, who Trimble considers to be part of his family, said he hadn’t thought about selling his Franklin Street location before meeting Trimble, but a time of deep thought and reflection made it clear to him that Trimble was the one to take up the mantle.
“When I was thinking about the being a good steward for the community, being a good steward for the brand, I knew that Seth had some opportunities that he could not only unlock amazing potential for him and his family, but I think that his story is one that could be remarkable just for young leaders and young students and young athletes of what’s possible and what they are capable of,” McBroom told Inside Carolina. “So that’s what led to me ultimately deciding that, and Seth being ready to take this big, first-time-ever leap. This has never been done before, and so that’s what I’m most impressed and proud of. He proved the epitome of the genius of ‘And.’ Yes, I can be a student and be an athlete and be a business owner. That’s never been done before, and I’m proud of him for doing that.”
Trimble and his family mulled over the idea after McBroom first posed it. They considered everything that came with owning a business, from the employees to the day-to-day logistics. But after some discussion, they decided to take up the rare opportunity for Trimble to become a student-athlete with his own ice cream shop.
Trimble now further plants his roots in Chapel Hill. He enters his fourth season with the team after joining Hubert Davis’ first recruiting class in 2022. Trimble opted to return after each of his previous three seasons, and throughout his time at UNC, he and his teammates have spent time plugging into the area.
“Acts of service is something I greatly appreciate, whether it’s receiving or doing,” Trimble said. “With my team the last four years, we’ve given back to the community so much, and we love doing that, and that’s no different with this today. You know, it’s a blessing to be able to do that, a blessing to be able to give and receive on both sides of the table.”
Trimble said the idea of ownership has been in his mind since high school, and now that he has the chance to dive deeper, he wants to take advantage of being a student-athlete with trailblazing potential in the ownership space. He hopes to bring his unique perspective and background to the table to help Ben & Jerry’s in his own way.
“The coolest thing I see right now in myself, that I can sit back and be like, ‘I’m really doing this,’” Trimble said. “I just turned 21 years old, and I’ve been put in such a blessing and just such a fortunate situation, to be able to purchase a Ben and Jerry’s. So that’s the one thing that has really been the coolest part to me, for me just to sit back and to really process that. It’s all the blessings in the world. I’m very grateful for it. I thank God. I thank everybody, I thank Antonio, I thank my parents. Everybody in my circle, I honestly give thanks to. But just to continue to grow the franchise.”
Trimble became a fan of Ben & Jerry’s himself once he came to UNC. On off days, he’ll come in to order the Milk & Cookies flavor. The next time he opts to do so, it’ll be as the owner of the establishment.
Excited kids walked past Trimble’s newly owned store and noticed the UNC guard outside taking pictures in front of the Ben & Jerry’s logo. After taking a second to confirm who they were looking at, they eagerly asked to take pictures with Trimble, who obliged and snapped shots one by one with them. Other local onlookers took a peek to see what was going on, as Trimble continued to prepare for his public announcement.
Many more will watch Trimble on the court this year to see what he can do as the veteran on a Tar Heels team with an abundance of new faces — and Trimble will work to deliver on the court.
Away from the game, though, he’ll work to hone his craft as a businessman.
“Him taking this step is a testament to others of what’s possible,” McBroom said. “And so that’s what I’m most excited about, is the lives that it can impact, not just the Trimble family, not just the Chapel Hill community, but the society at large. The lives that it can impact by having someone with Seth’s resume taking this sort of leap in business so that other young, budding leaders and entrepreneurs and student-athletes will say, ‘You know what? Maybe this is a good thing. This is something that’s possible for me.’ They’ll start dreaming that young.
“The same way we have hoop dreams whenever we’re this age, my vision is that this is a story that can have others, yes, have those Hoop Dreams, but also have dreams of being business leaders and cultural icons, which is what Seth is on the way to becoming.”
Category: General Sports
